A road traffic injury is a fatal or non-fatal injury incurred as a result of a collision on a public road involving at least one moving vehicle. In 2013, an estimated 122 695 people died from road traffic injuries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, constituting approximately 9.79% of the world’s estimated deaths.

The road traffic fatality rate in the Region has decreased from 21.3 to 19.9 per 100 000 population between 2010 and 2013. Yet with this rate, the Region still ranks second in terms of the highest road traffic fatality rates in the world, after the African Region (26.6 per 100 000 population).

The Region is the only region where high-income countries have an overall road traffic death rate that is higher than that of the less affluent countries (22.4 compared to 19. 8 and 18.02 per 100 000 population in middle- and low-income countries, respectively) and is more than double the average global rate of high-income countries.

The road traffic death rate in the Region is highest among men in the age group between 15 and 29 years, and disproportionately affects the vulnerable road users as they account for 41% of the regional deaths.